A senior defense official today said the directed-energy supply chain must be bolstered if the United States is to compete with peer adversaries like China and Russia. Frank Peterkin, the principal director for directed energy at the Pentagon, said directed-energy weapons offer the Defense Department a unique opportunity to transform integrated air and missile defense and counter asymmetric threats and sensors. “We face threats in all domains,” Peterkin said. “And the threats that are becoming so stressing, both in their...
